Mishcon de Reya
Firm overview:
Mishcon de Reya’s growing trade secrets practice operates from offices in London, Cambridge, Oxford, Hong Kong and Singapore. The firm’s multidisciplinary team consists of specialists in employment, data protection, civil and criminal fraud, reputation management, regulatory and commercial law.
Mishcon acts on trade secrets cases in all sectors, especially the life sciences and IT (AI and quantum computing) industries. Matters range from those involving trade secrets of a highly technical nature (for example, detailing technological processes) to databases of customer lists. Clients such as Ladbrokes and Ocado have entrusted the team with handling trade secrets-related issues.
The firm also carries out trade secrets audits, reviewing and identifying clients’ key proprietary information and advising on how best to protect it. Mishcon’s in-house team of cyber security experts, MDR Cyber, conducts digital investigations, and assists clients with future preventative measures.
Team overview:
Peter Nunn heads up the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets Practice at the firm. His work highlights include advising a Spanish technology company on a multi-jurisdictional misuse of trade secrets claim against Vodafone, and the defence of Ladbrokes of a claim which went to the Court of Appeal over alleged misuse of confidential information and database rights in horse racing data.
Trade secrets experts at the firm also include Jeremy Hertzog, who chairs the Innovation department, and Hugo Plowman, who heads up the Dispute Resolution team.
Rob Griffiths joined the team in July 2024 from Deloitte as a partner in the Innovation department, bringing a strong practice in complex and business-critical technology disputes to the firm.
Key matters:
- HRC Pizza Group: High Court claim
The team is representing HRC Pizza Group and its directors in a High Court claim relating to the sale of over 60 Papa John’s franchised pizza shops to defendant Drake Food Service International. Drake Food Service had counterclaimed against HRC Pizza Group and its shareholders/directors alleging that they had misused its confidential information to open a sushi restaurant chain in the location of some of its most profitable stores. The defendant also alleged that the sushi restaurants were in direct competition with its pizza stores.
Tom Roberts (partner), Sharvani Jeya Putra (associate) and Tom Cleaver (Blackstone Chambers) are on Mishcon’s team for the matter.
- Weiss Technik: Trade secrets, data and IP dispute
Mishcon acts for Weiss in a dispute relating to alleged widespread misappropriation and misuse by former employees of its highly sensitive and business-critical data, confidential information and IP. Weiss is part of an international group of companies which design, manufacture and offer maintenance and calibration services in relation to engineering equipment, and in particular environmental testing chambers.
Following a seven-day trial on liability, the judgment found that all the defendants had breached their obligations of confidence towards Weiss and had infringed Weiss’ copyright in various software programs and its database rights. The matter is proceeding to a quantum trial to assess the damage sustained by Weiss.
For Mishcon: Jeremy Hertzog (partner), Shona Coffer (partner), Joe Hancock (partner), Chloe Hamilton (associate), Eleanor Wilson (associate) and Sian Harding (associate).
- Claim for misuse of private information
Mishcon represented Andrew Prismall as class representative in a novel class action (brought as a representative claim under CPR 19.8) on behalf of a class of 1.6 million individuals regarding the misuse of their medical records. The claim was issued in the High Court in April 2022 as an opt-out representative action against Google UK and DeepMind Technologies.
The background to the case is the unlawful transfer of confidential medical records to Google and DeepMind without the knowledge or consent of the individuals concerned.
This claim attracted a significant amount of press attention and was one of the few leading ‘test’ cases in the market regarding the scope of representative actions under CPR 19.6 (now CPR 19.8).
The High Court struck out the case in May 2023. Prismall appealed to the Court of Appeal and the appeal was heard in October 2024. By a judgment in December 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Mishcon’s team consisted of Ben Lasserson (partner), Shona Coffer (partner) and Jon Baines (senior data protection specialist).
Clients:
Ocado, Entain Group, Weiss Technik
